The Cocoa Effect
by Salmonpuff
Summary: Sheldon has gone away for a sci fi convcention, and Penny finds herself thinking about him more and more
1. Chapter 1

She's alone now, curled up on her sofa underneath a huge shaggy blanket. Beside her, a box of posh chocolates lies open with empty wrappers cluttering the armchair. The television is on, Patrick Swayze flouncing across the screen in dirty dancing. She's in heaven, chick flicks, chocolate and wine. What more could a girl want? It's been a quiet few days for Penny, the boys having been at some sort of comic book convention, but she knows the peace won't last much longer. She's expecting a knock on the door at any moment, the sound of Sheldon repeating her name over and over again to come drifting through. But she won't mind. Because she's missed them, missed sitting over there and having Chinese takeaway while they talk about something scientific that she doesn't understand. They're her friends. Her best friends. And no matter how irritated she got with Sheldon's weirdness, she loved him to pieces.

She stopped herself there. _Love him to pieces, what the hell am I thinking? _

Her mind was all a buzz as she popped another chocolate into her mouth. She wanted to keep on denying it to herself, but the fact was she couldn't. Not anymore. She was fed up of picking guys that treated her like complete and utter crap, guys who preferred their looks over her. But Sheldon? Sheldon Cooper was different. He was smart, funny and just so adorable at times. She loved how he didn't understand sarcasm, how he had pretty much no common sense, loved his need to keep everything in complete and utter order. But the problem was he wouldn't ever have any clue how she felt because it would just fly straight over his head. The poor boy didn't understand about human interaction at all. Maybe it would be better if they just stayed friends.

_I had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you_

_I do owe it all to you Sheldon. You brighten up my days when it seems like nothing else can. You make me laugh, you confuse me terribly. But I like you, I really do. And I wish you could see that._

She sighed and reached down to her feet, picking up her large glass of wine and taking a large sip. She needed the numbness that alcohol could bring her. All this thinking of men was starting to make her feel really down.

But then

"Penny"

_Knock Knock_

"Penny"

_Knock Knock_

"Penny"

She jumped from her spot on the couch then, knocking her wine all over the floor and sending the box of chocolates flying. For a moment, she stared at the spreading damp patch on the carpet before shrugging, composing herself and wandering over to the door. With shaking hands, she pulled the door open and found herself face to face with Sheldon Cooper, PhD. He was dressed in his Spock costume, complete with pointy ears and swept back hair. And he looked good, although she would never admit it to him.

"Sheldon…do you know what time it is?"

"Why of course I do Penny. It's 12.30am…although I realise now your question may have been rhetorical…I need to get better at spotting that."

"Yes you do sweetie. How was your comic book convention?"

He blinked at her and stepped back, "Comic book convention? I was at a Star Trek convention Penny…how could you not realise that when I am stood in front of you dressed like Spock?"

"Oh…sorry Sheldon…look, do you want to come in?"

"Come in for what?"

She smiled, "I don't know, a drink maybe?"

No emotion crossed his face as he hesitated for a moment before nodding, "A warm beverage would provide the perfect ending to a weekend of Star Trek. Do you have cocoa?"

She let him walk straight in and take his spot in the corner. She barely noticed as he shifted himself around in the chair, she was so used to his little ticks by now.

"Cocoa? Yeah, I think I have some…" her words trailed off as she stuck her head in a cupboard and rummaged around, "I think I got some just for you…there we go!" She pulled out the tin of cocoa with a grin, only to receive a satisfied nod.

Suppressing a nod she began to make the cocoa in exactly the way Sheldon liked it. 2 parts cocoa to 4 parts milk and heated in the microwave for 2 minutes. She was getting good at it now, he complained less and less each time. In fact, his evening cocoa sessions were becoming a bit of a habit. And a habit she didn't want him to break.

"Penny?"

She looked up, "Yes sweetie?"

"Why is there a wine glass on the floor with a very dark wet patch all around it?"

She laughed, "I knocked it over when I got up to answer the door to you."

"Is that when you threw your box of chocolates all over the floor as well? And why on earth would you have done that?"

"You surprised me that's all"

"I see. So you weren't expecting me to knock on your door at 12.30am? Or the thought of seeing me after an entire weekend excited you thoroughly…..?" he trailed off then, his brow furrowed in thought.

The microwave pinged and she took the steaming cup of cocoa out, carried it over to the table and placed it in front of him. He said nothing as she did so, did not notice when she sat beside him. His brow was still furrowed, he was obviously thinking deeply about something.

"Sheldon? Is everything ok?"

After a moment he looked up at her, "I was just working out the probability of the reasoning behind your chocolates being thrown halfway across the room being that you were excited to see me. After all, you are a normal female and you seek the partnership of another man, but I fail to see why you would think in such a way of me…we are only acquaintances after all…therefore the statistical probability would be incredibly low that you felt that way…and so you must have been shocked by my knocking on the door. Unless of course…"

"Sheldon?"

"Hmmm?"

She smiled at him, "You got it right the first time. I was excited to see you…"

He raised an eyebrow, "But why?"

She laughed, "Sheldon…I like you…and I've been sat here all night trying to work out how to tell you. But you sort of got there yourself I guess…"

He nodded, "I see. When you say you 'like me', I take it that means you are sexually attracted to me?"

"Yes…yes I guess it does…"

"I see…" he picked up the cup of cocoa and took a sip, "Oh Penny, this is delicious!"

She smiled, feeling bold in that one moment. It must have been an effect of the wine because normally she would never dream of doing such a thing. She took the cocoa away from him, placed it down on the table and quickly pressed her lips against his. For a moment, it felt awkward, as if she were trying to kiss a brick wall, but then he softened and in one sweet blissful moment, she felt him kiss her back.

But then it was over. As soon as it began, it was over. He pulled away from her then, his face a bright shade of red. He stood up, his chair scraping against the floor and he rushed over to the door, pulling it open with obviously shaking hands. After a moment, he turned back to her.

"Thank you for the cocoa penny, it was most enjoyable….good night…"

She blinked at the door swung shut behind him, and shook her head as she gathered up her blanket, switched the television off and made her way through to the bedroom, "Well…that went as well as it could have I suppose…"


	2. Chapter 2

It was 6.15am and Sheldon Cooper had taken his usual spot on the couch, a bowl of cereal in front of him covered with a quarter cup of two percent milk and the familiar tones of doctor who on BBC America sounding from the television. But Sheldon Cooper was not eating his cereal, he was staring dumbly at the television screen as if he were either lost in thought or had received no sleep the night before. Leonard Hofstader reckoned it was the first one, as he shuffled from his room into the kitchen where he flicked on the kettle and poured his own bowl of cereal, grabbing the milk from the refridgerator and pouring liberal amounts on. As he shuffled over to the couch, he stopped upon noticing Sheldon and his dumb look of idiocy.

"Sheldon?"

Nothing

"Sheldon?"

Still nothing. Frowning, Leonard put his bowl of cereal down on the coffee table and reached out. He grabbed Sheldon's shoulder and shook viciously, making the completely out of it physicist wobble and shake like a jello. But it seemed to work.

"Leonard. Why are you shaking me?"

Leonard shrugged and sat down, pulling his breakfast bowl towards him, "You were staring blankly at the TV screen…like you didn't get any sleep last night."

Sheldon blinked, "I was? Oh that is most peculiar…" with a sigh he began to raise a spoonful of cereal before stopping suddenly, "…my cereal has lost its molecular capacity…and become cornflake mush…"

"That's because you were staring at the TV Sheldon…Sheldon? Is everything ok?"

But Sheldon had fallen silent again, had placed his by now mushy cereal back on the table and was leant on his hands, watching Dr. Who avidly. It was the one where the stone angels came to life and transported people to different dimensions. Scary stuff. But it was as if Sheldon was not actually watching it, his eyes had glazed over again.

"Sheldon?" Leonard said louder now, "Are you OK?!"

Sheldon looked up then, "What? Oh. In the most simplest terms then it would be said that no, I am not ok. However, my feelings do not matter, what matters is watching Dr Who, replacing my breakfast and going into work. String Theory will wait for no man Leonard."

The other man raised an eyebrow, "Sheldon, if you don't tell me what happened then I swear to God I will go in the bathroom and remove your toothbrush from beneath its UV light."

Sheldon Cooper blinked, and sat back in his favourite spot, "Fine. If I tell you what happened and why I am suffering from melancholia, then you have to buy dinner tonight. It's Cheesecake Factory Tuesdays…" he didn't even wait for Leonard to answer, "…Leonard…what does it mean when someone who classifies you as a 'friend', spills their wine and chocolates all over the floor trying to answer the door to you, makes you a hot cocoa as a bedtime drink and then proceeds to…kiss…you?"

Leonard blinked, "Someone kissed you?"

"Why yes. It should be obvious from the description I have just given you that 'someone' kissed me last night…and in fact I really should not be telling you this. But…what does it mean, Leonard? I left there and I felt something…"

Leonard frowned, "It was Penny wasn't it?"

"IT WAS NOT PENNY!......yes, it was Penny…"

"And you felt something?"

Sheldon nodded, "Yes, I felt like I wanted to have coitus with her…and I came back to the flat and found myself…well, you know what I mean. But I felt like…I wanted to look after her…"

Leonard sighed. This was not what he wanted to hear, not when he had lusted after Penny for so long himself. If anything, this conversation was uncomfortable for him, "Look…Sheldon…if you like her then go and tell her…"

Sheldon shook his head, "I can't tell her…I can't even go over there for my nightly cocoa!"

Leonard had nothing to say to that, "The famous Sheldon Cooper PhD is lost for words…you don't see that often. But if you don't tell her, then you'll end up feeling awkward and passing her in the hallway for months with a quick hello and nothing more…it's up to you…"

He said nothing more, just stood up and went back to the kitchen where he began to wash his breakfast bowl, his face a portrait of despair.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three days. Three whole days since Penny had seen or heard from Sheldon. Usually she would have already had that knock on the door and the repetition of her name, him stood there demanding to be taken somewhere or demanding to come in or to give her some form of overly complicated scientific fact. But he hadn't. She had seen the others, stopped in the hallway to talk to Leonard, Howard and Raj. But there had been no sign of Sheldon, and she missed him.

With a sigh, she shuffled her way over to the TV and switched it on. The sound of some nature show narrated by Richard Attenborough immediately greeted her, but she didn't change it. It was the sort of thing that Sheldon would watch if it was on. He loved these weird geeky shows, and in truth, she was starting to love them to. She often switched the TV on to find Dr Who or Batman, and never bothered changing the channel. And she wondered what Sheldon would think if he knew this. Was he watching this animal show too? Or was he playing one of his online games again?

_Geez, I am thinking way too much about this_

But in truth, she couldn't get Sheldon Cooper out of her head. Everytime she closed her eyes, she could see that kiss. The kiss that made her want to explode inside. Did Sheldon feel the same? He had left so suddenly with little more than a word.

She wanted him, that much she knew. And why had it taken her so long to realise it? He may be an irritating scientist who took far too much delight in making other people feel stupid, but it was his little ticks that made her love him all the more. She wanted him.

***

Sheldon stopped outside the door, his hand raised as if to knock. But something was holding him back, and he wasn't entirely sure what it was. He hadn't seen Penny for days, had spent those past days wondering and worrying about the kiss. He had never felt like this about any female member of the species and had been completely surprised when it had been Penny who had sparked those feelings. He had never expected to want to partake in sexual intercourse with anyone, let alone Penny. But now his heart and his brain were telling him to do something about it.

He raised his hand and knocked once

"Penny?"

_Knock knock knock_

"Penny?"

_Knock knock knock_

The door opened and Penny stood there, a look of utter bewilderment on her face. She looked so…_what's the word for it?_...beautiful in her little pink shorts and vest top, her blonde hair tied back loosely.

"Hi…Sheldon…"

He tried to smile, but he was sweating with the nerves, "Hullo Penny…"

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you ok sweetie? You seem a little bit on edge."

He shifted uncomfortable, "I need to talk to you…alone…" he stressed the final word and gave her an intense stare.

She nodded and stepped back, "Ok…come on in Sheldon…"

She stepped back and let him pass through. As she closed the door behind them she noticed that he hadn't taken his usual spot, instead had sat down on the sofa, still looking incredibly uncomfortable. She sat down next to him,

"Sheldon, are you ok?"

He shook his head vigerously, "No Penny, I am NOT ok. My head is full of a paradox which my mind just cannot comprehend. It's making everything hurt, because it does not make sense!"

She laughed, "What? Can you tell me in English?"

"It's not funny Penny. I am…" he sighed and clasped his hands together, "experiencing a feeling I have never experienced before. I have finally run into a part of the human experience that I never thought I would. And I don't like it…"

"Sheldon, I don't understand…" but she trailed off, could see he was getting agitated, "Sheldon?"

He frowned, "I think, to put it in laymans terms…the best way to explain myself would be to say that…I…I am…in love?"

She gasped then, not out of spite or shock. But because she realised then that her worrying had been for nothing. And now, poor Sheldon was having to struggle to come to terms with what was happening.

"Sheldon, is this about the other night?"

He nodded, "Why yes Penny it is. The kiss we shared, it awoke something in me that I never felt before. The ultimate desire to have sexual intercourse with you…and then look after you…make sure you're safe…"

She smiled at him then, reached forward and took his hand, "That is so sweet Sheldon…"

"And…Penny? Do you feel the same way as I do?"

She nodded, and gently stroked his hand, "Yes Sheldon…I think I do…I've thought of nothing else these few days…barely been able to get you out of my head…"

He blinked, "oh GOOD", his perky demeanor was back, "So…so Penny? Does this mean you and I are dating? And does it mean that I can…repeat…what we started?"

She grinned, "You can do anything you want sweetie…"

But she never finished her sentence, his lips had already found hers and seemed to be devouring her. She squeaked a little in surprise but soon relaxed, returned his kiss, let her tongue slide over his. She could feel his hands exploring her body, could feel him tense as his hands brushed her breasts. It was as if he was exploring a womans body for the first time, and he was enjoying the experience immensely. And second by second, the kiss was becoming more intimate. She found herself nibbling his lower lip, her own hands all over his body, tearing beneath his 'the flash' shirt. She wanted him and she wanted him badly. And from the feel of things, he wanted the same thing.

She pulled away, breathing heavily, "Sheldon…do you want to go to the bedroom?"

"But I'm not sleepy Penny…I was thinking of…other things…"

She giggled, "I know sweetie…I think the bedroom is the best place for it…" she stood up and took his hand, gently pulled him to his feet and kissed him again, "I think sweetie, it's about time I introduced you to that one part of the human experience you never thought you would know…"

He didn't complain, just smiled at her, a warm smile, a smile that told her he had feelings about her.

"Penny?" He barely noticed as his bedroom door was pushed open and he felt himself pushed on the bed, barely noticed as this beautiful blonde straddled him, "You're very beautiful…"

She smiled and put a finger to his lips, as with the other hand she began to play with his belt buckle, "Shhh…no more talk now moonpie…but thanks sweetie, you're not too bad yourself…"

He let out a gasp as she unzippered his jeans and freed what she wanted. If the truth be told, he was terrified. _Close your eyes Sheldor…let her do it. She's pretty, you like her…you _love _her…OH MY GOSH THAT FEELS AMAZING…what is she doing? Oh she's…she's using her…mouth? Oh I had no idea coitus could be so enjoyable…I think I'll do this more often…should I start undressing her? I hope she has some form of contraceptive method on her…_


End file.
